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Your Summit Weekly Briefing

By Ashwath Vimal, Angela Hwang and Ethan Ignatovsky

Staff Writers

Disclaimer: Though the Weekly Briefings are no longer tagged in the Opinions section of Summit News and we try to remain as unbiased as possible, our opinions may show through in this article, especially in the “Actions” section.

Summit:

Check out these articles from Summit journalism students/staff writers!

This article by Celeste Willey and Sophia Vu talks about the pros and cons of having a P.E. class in high school and the fact that Summit schools do not have one. It includes interviews with students from Summit and outside of Summit!
This article by Dulce Sandoval and Jeryah Machado discusses how COVID-19 has affected sports in high schools, professional sports and clubs, and even the Olympics!
Check out this article by Summit Prep staff writers Diego Contreras, Ashley Gil and Diana Morales that discuss what an Adulting course teaches, and how it may not be as “boring” as it seems. The article includes interviews with Adulting teachers and students at Summit Prep and teachers that felt like they could have used an Adulting course in their past.
Check out this article which reviews Disney’s latest Star Wars show, the “Book of Boba Fett”

General News:

New York attorney general Letitia James failed in their attempt to disband the National Rife Association (NRA) by the Supreme Court. However, his lawsuit was given the green light. The attorney general tried to claim that NRA executives’ “mismanagement of funds” was harming the public, but there was not enough evidence to prove that the financial misconduct benefited the NRA. James has said that her and her team are “considering their options” as of the time of the ruling. If they decide to move forward with a lawsuit and provide tangible proof that the NRA is purposefully mismanaging funds, they can “address harm done to the NRA and its members and donors with “targeted, less intrusive” relief”, as said by the Supreme Court.
Parts of Australia are experiencing heavy floods, leaving many buildings fully submerged and people stranded on the roofs of these buildings. As of now,the record death toll is 10 and over 1,000 rescue operations have been carried out so far. The extreme weather started in eastern Australia, but is moving south towards Sydney, which may experience 6 inches of rain in a short period of time.
Snippet: Katie Meyer, one of Stanford University’s soccer players who led the women’s team to an NCAA championship, was found dead on campus. The cause of death is unknown, but assurances have been made that student safety is still intact.

Covid-19:

A white-tailed deer in Ontario, Canada was found to be carrying a new variation of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. The new variation is very different from previous ones and has around 79 gene changes from the strand found in Wuhan, China, which started the current global pandemic.
During President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, he introduced the White House’s new Covid-19 strategy. He called for more free rapid tests, as well as setting up clinics that will hand out Pfizer’s antiviral pills to those who tested positive. A new website will be made that will show everything from where to get N95 masks to the risk of covid in your community. If funding can be secured, new facilities will be set up to help individuals dealing with post-Covid syndromes. A 96-page plan was released on Wednesday which goes into greater detail about Biden’s plan.
New guidelines to whether Americans should wear masks or not were released last Friday by the CDC, which now takes into consideration hospital admissions and capacity in your area. The CDC also said on Monday that it no longer recommends contact tracing as new cases, hospitalizations and death numbers continue to drop. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky also announced that new efforts in surveillance mean that the CDC can identify new variants of Covid-19 that makeup as little as 0.1% of all cases.

Politics:

Civil Rights Snippets:

Columbia has decriminalized abortions. This decision follows Mexico and Argentina’s earlier decisions, suggesting a wave of similar decisions may be coming in Latin America.
Kyle Rittenhouse has been acquitted of all his charges. He will be launching the Media Accountability Project as a way to hold the media accountable, especially in court. This decision follows his trial experiences as there was a lot of misinformation spread by the media.
On Feb. 18, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a legal opinion saying that medically-confirming transgender practices would be considered child abuse under Texas law. This mandates reporting of any suspected abuse and criminalizes non-reporting. The American Civil Liberties Union sued Texas to block states from checking into families with youth gender transition treatment. Texas District Judge Amy Meachum issued a temporary block against a CPS-ordered investigation into a transgender minor; her order does not prevent investigations into any other child.
The Singapore Court of Appeals declined to overturn the colonial-era law that criminalizes gay sex for men. The justices said the “court is not a front-runner for social change or an architect of social policy”.

Ukraine:

Early Thursday morning last week, Russia invaded Ukraine, following weeks of military build-up on the Ukrainian-Russian border and many calls from various nations for Russia to withdraw their troops from that border.
Wealthier refugees have been flooding into surrounding nations from Ukraine, such as Romania and Poland; these nations are bracing for another, less well off, wave.
The UN has imposed heavy sanctions aimed at crippling the Russian economy; the Russian oligarchs are especially targeted. As a result, the value of the ruble has dropped by 25%.
More than 70 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in addition to the civilian casualties. Many Ukrainians are signing up to defend their nation. In addition, there have been reports of Russia using vacuum bombs.
There is a 40-mile-long line of Russian military vehicles headed for the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.
Russia and Ukraine have met twice for talks, but nothing concrete came of it – Russia said it will continue its “operation” in Ukraine. More talks are scheduled.
Here are the live updates.

America:

President Biden gave his first State of the Union address on Tuesday, with many of the audience wearing blue and yellow in support of Ukraine. Central to Biden’s address was the situation in Ukraine. According to Politico, Biden “condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression and reasserted the United States’ role as a moral leader”. There was much more to his address, as he also spoke on many issues such as Covid, federal legislation that he wants to pass and his achievements, so please go read the linked article.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds gave the Republican rebuttal to the address. One of her quotes, as transcribed by NPR, summarizes her speech perfectly: “We’re now one year into his presidency, and instead of moving America forward, it feels like President Biden and his party have sent us back in time…”. Reynolds pointed out many of the president’s failures in the past year: “runaway inflation”, “a violent crime wave”, the situation in Ukraine, the way he handled Afghanistan, and more. She argued that Biden has increased division in the nation and weakened the U.S. on the world stage. “This is not the same country it was a year ago,” she said. “The President tried to paint a different picture tonight, but his actions over the last twelve months don’t match the rhetoric.”

Sports:

MLB:

If there are going to be MLB games this year, all 162 will not be played. Commissioner Rob Manfred announced Tuesday evening that due to the Players Association rejecting the MLB’s “best and final [collective bargaining agreement] offer”, the first two series of the season will be canceled, meaning that at the moment the MLB will play 156 games at most. A month prior, Manfred said that canceling games would be a “disastrous outcome”. Manfred blamed the players, yet locking the players out and an unwillingness to discuss and compromise has backfired on Manfred and the owners. In most fans’ eyes, it is the owners being greedy, not the players, as they seem to only care about money, and not about winning. The league is willing to miss a whole month of baseball, but hopefully, a deal can be struck before then.

International Sports:

Athletes from all different countries and sports have come together to raise awareness and denounce Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On the governing side of sports, however, real action can be taken, and different sports leagues and governing bodies have responded in different ways. Russian and Belarussian athletes will be able to compete in the 2022 Paralympic games under the Paralympic flag and anthem. The FIFA and UEFA have suspended all Russian teams from competing in their tournaments while the World Athletics Council banned Russian and Belarussian athletes. All tennis competitions in Russia and Belarus have been canceled by the International Tennis Federation, and athletes from the two countries have received immediate and indefinite suspensions. The FIA, which is the governing body for most motorsport categories and competitions, allows Russian and Belarusian drivers to race under the FIA flag and has banned both countries’ National Anthems. Formula 1, which is governed by the FIA, has also canceled this year’s Russian Grand Prix, and countries that host Grand Prix are allowed to block Russian and Belarussian drivers from competing.

Entertainment:

With the theatrical release of “The Batman” looming around the corner, early reviews have been piling in. One of the highlights of the film is the acting of Robert Pattinson as Batman, Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman, Paul Dano as the Riddler, and Jeffery Wright as James Gordon all being praised. While being more akin to films such as “Zodiac” than the traditional superhero films, the movie does well to tie Batman to his detective comic book roots while still incorporating superhero movie elements. Additionally, the taintedness of Gotham helps cement the tone of the movie as darker than its predecessors. And unlike other Batman films, the persona of Bruce Wayne is not portrayed as a charming and confident playboy, but as a haunted and brooding man who still needs to grow into his role. While this does not reinvent the Batman genre, it provides a vulnerability to this character that has not been done before. The main downside of the film, however, seems to come from the overly-long runtime. At three hours, the film seems to drag on the plot for a bit too long for comfort.
Due to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, many streaming services and studios are pulling their content from Russia. Among them include Disney, WarnerMedia, and Netflix, with the upcoming blockbuster “The Batman” being one of the first on the chopping block with many more blockbusters such as Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness up next. Furthermore, many bands and artists such as Green Day, Louis Tomlinson and Yungblud are all postponing concerts planned in Russia in light of the tragic events that are unfolding.
The 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards occurred on Feb. 28, where the best acting performances of the past year were recognized. One of the most popular shows of the year, “Squid Game” won the most awards, with “Ted Lasso” and “CODA” winning multiple awards as well. Other winners include celebrated actors Michael Keaton and Will Smith and the end to the Daniel Craig James Bond era, “No Time To Die”. See the full list of winners here.

Weather:

Olympus (Tacoma): Highs will drop this week: 50℉ on Thursday, 49℉ on Friday, 51℉ on Saturday, 53℉ on Sunday, 52℉ on Monday, 48℉ on Tuesday and 47℉ on Wednesday. Lows will follow a similar pattern: 40℉ on Thursday, 37℉ on Friday, 35℉ on Saturday, 36℉ on Sunday, 39℉ on Monday, 35℉ on Tuesday and 34℉ on Wednesday. It will rain on Thursday, but be cloudy the rest of the week.

Summary: Highs in the low 50’s, lows in the mid 30’s, cloudy.

Atlas and Sierra (Seattle): Highs will fluctuate this week: 49℉ on Thursday, 48℉ on Friday, 50℉ on Saturday, 52℉ on Sunday, 50℉ on Monday, 48℉ on Tuesday and 47℉ on Wednesday. Lows will drop this week: 40℉ on Thursday, 38℉ on Friday, 36℉ on Saturday and Sunday, 39℉ on Monday, 36℉ on Tuesday and 35℉ on Wednesday. It will rain on Thursday, but be cloudy the rest of the week.

Summary: Highs in the upper 40’s, lows in the upper 30’s, clouds.

Denali (Sunnyvale): Highs will rise overall this week: 59℉ on Thursday, 53℉ on Friday, 55℉ on Saturday, 59℉ on Sunday, 63℉ on Monday, 64℉ on Tuesday and 62℉ on Wednesday. Lows will follow a similar pattern: 46℉ on Thursday, 40℉ on Friday, 39℉ on Saturday, 38℉ on Sunday, 39℉ on Monday, 40℉ on Tuesday and 41℉ on Wednesday. It might rain on Thursday and Friday, but the rest of the week will be mostly sunny.

Summary: Highs in the low 60’s, lows in the upper 30’s, mostly sunny.

Everest and Prep (Redwood City): Highs will drop then rise this week: 58℉ on Thursday, 53℉ on Friday, 55℉ on Saturday, 59℉ on Sunday, 63℉ on Monday, 61℉ on Tuesday and 60℉ on Wednesday. Lows will follow a similar pattern: 47℉ on Thursday, 42℉ on Friday, 41℉ from Saturday to Monday and 43℉ on Tuesday and Wednesday. It will rain on Thursday and Friday but be sunny the rest of the week.

Summary: Highs in the low 60’s, lows in the low 40’s, sunny.

K2 (El Cerrito): Highs will rise overall this week: 55℉ on Thursday, 54℉ on Friday, 55℉ on Saturday, 60℉ on Sunday, 64℉ on Monday and 62℉ on Tuesday and Wednesday. Lows will also drop this week: 48℉ on Thursday, 41℉ on Friday, 40℉ on Saturday and Sunday, 41℉ on Monday, 42℉ on Tuesday and 43℉ on Wednesday. It will rain on Thursday and be sunny the rest of the week.

Summary: Highs in the low 60’s, lows in the low 40’s, sunny.

Tam (Richmond): Highs will rise this week: 57℉ on Thursday, 55℉ on Friday, 56℉ on Saturday, 60℉ on Sunday, 65℉ on Monday, 63℉ on Tuesday and 62℉ on Wednesday. Lows will drop then rise this week: 47℉ on Thursday, 41℉ on Friday, 39℉ on Saturday and Sunday, 40℉ on Monday and 42℉ on Tuesday and Wednesday. It will rain on Thursday, but be sunny the rest of the week.

Summary: Highs in the mid 50’s, lows in the low 40’s, sunny.

Tahoma (San Jose): Highs will rise this week: 61℉ on Thursday, 54℉ on Friday, 56℉ on Saturday, 61℉ on Sunday, 65℉ on Monday and Tuesday and 64℉ on Wednesday. Lows will fall this week: 47℉ on Thursday, 40℉ on Friday, 38℉ on Saturday, 36℉ on Sunday, 38℉ on Monday, 39℉ on Tuesday and 40℉ on Wednesday. It will rain from Thursday to Saturday, but be sunny the rest of the week.

Summary: Highs in the mid 50’s, lows in the upper 30’s, sunny.

Cooking: Tamales

By Lauren Allen on Tastes Better From Scratch

Makes 24 tamales

Ingredients:

Dough:

4 cups Masa Harina (Maseca brand if available)
3 cups broth (beef, chicken, or vegetable broth)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cumin
1 1/3 cups lard
8 ounce package dried corn husks

Filling options (see website for recipes):

Red chili pork
Salsa verde chicken
Bean and cheese
Authentic Mexican Rice, for serving, optional

Instructions:

Soak the corn husks in a bowl of very hot water for 30 minutes or until softened.
Prepare desired fillings.
Make the tamal dough: In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the lard and 2 tablespoons of broth until fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Combine the masa flour, baking powder, salt, and cumin in a separate bowl; stir into the lard mixture and beat well with an electric mixer.
Add the broth, little by little to form a very soft dough. Beat on high speed for several minutes. The dough should spread like creamy peanut butter and be slightly sticky.* Cover the mixing bowl with a damp paper towel, to keep the dough from drying out.
Assemble the tamales: Lay a corn husk, glossy side up, on the counter with the wide end at the top. Scoop about ¼ cup of dough onto the top, center of the corn husk. Lay a piece of plastic wrap over the dough and use your hands to press and spread the masa into a thin layer, about ¼ inch thick. Keep the dough spread along the top half of the corn husk to allow plenty of room to fold the bottom husk up, when it’s time.
Place 1-2 tablespoons of desired filling in a line down the center of the dough. (You
don’t want too much filling).
Fold in one long side of the husk over the filling. Fold in the other long side, overlapping the first (like folding a brochure). Fold the bottom of the husk up.
Tying tamales (optional): You don’t have to tie a corn husk string around the tamales–it does take more time and they will hold together without it. However, if you’re making multiple fillings, tying ones of a certain kind can help to identify them.
Cook on the stove-top or Instant Pot: Add water to the bottom of your steamer or instant pot. (About 1 cup for IP and a few cups for a steamer pot—don’t fill above the steamer rack.) Lay a few extra corn husks on the bottom rack to keep the tamales from falling through and any boiling water from directly touching them.
Place tamales standing upright, with their open end up, just tightly enough to keep them standing. If using a steamer pot, lay a few soaked corn husks or a wet towel over the top of the tamales before closing the lid.
Steamer: Bring water to a boil (in Mexico they would often place a coin at the bottom of the steamer and when the coin started to tap in the pot you know the water was boiling.) Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and steam for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or longer. Check them after 45 minutes.
Instant Pot: Cook on Manual/High Pressure for 25 minutes. Allow pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes, and then quick release.
To test if the tamales are done: Remove one and try to pull the husk off. If the husk pulls away cleanly from the tamale they’re done. If the dough is still sticky or wet looking, cook them for 5-10 minutes longer and try again.
Store leftover tamales in the refrigerator for 5-7 days depending on the freshness of your ingredients.

]Actions:

Editor’s note: The “Actions” section includes petitions to sign, prompts and scripts to write officials with as well as other opportunities to engage in your local, national and global communities.

This actions section will be in honor of Women’s History Month (WHM). March was officially designated the month for WHM by the government in 1987. However, its origins trace back to I.ternational Women’s Day, which was established in 1911. In any case, women have long been underrepresented and underappreciated in our society, and that is something that should not have been and should no longer be upheld.

Don’t reject the fact that women have been treated unfairly throughout history and even to this day, but accept it and be aware of the issues women face today to help push forward equal treatment for all sexes/genders.
Visit here to see the different virtual events you can attend about WHM, and the video and audio recordings that can help educate you on Women’s History.
Donate to different organizations focused on helping women across the world

And, as always:

Watch or listen or listen to this playlist. All advertisement revenue goes to Black Lives Matter. Do not skip the ads, the donations will not go through otherwise.

Watch or listen to this video. All advertisement revenue goes to various aid organizations easing the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. Please note it is blocked on school-issued Chromebooks due to being in the “Entertainment” category
- Learn more about the crisis at www.monareliefye.org/.